LDS Family Fellowship is a support organization, engaged in strengthening relationships between LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning) individuals, their families and friends.

We believe that LGBTQ individuals are great blessings to their families, communities and society at large. We strive to become more understanding and appreciative of each other and seek to put behind us all attitudes that are anti-family, threaten loving relationships or drive family members apart.

All who can support these goals are welcome to contribute to our group.

We are Mama Dragons
We are a supportive group of mothers. We are shelter for their children. We are champions of faith, family, and LGBTQIA communities.

Human Rights Campaign | Blog

Today, the National Center for Transgender Equality released the 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey (USTS), a groundbreaking, new report on the experiences of transgender people in the United States. The report’s sobering results, which found that transgender people continue to face widespread discrimination throughout daily life, underscore the urgency of the fight for trans equality.

Among its various findings, 30 percent of respondents who had a job reported being fired, denied a promotion or experiencing some other form of mistreatment in the workplace due to their gender identity. Within health care, one third of transgender people surveyed stated that they had at least one negative experience related to being transgender when seeing a health care provider and 23 percent reported that they had avoided going to a health care provider within the last year due to fears of being mistreated.

While the USTS was conducted prior to this year’s national debate around anti-transgender bills like HB2 in North Carolina and the hostile environment it created, the report still found that more than half of respondents avoided using a public restroom in the past year because they were afraid of mistreatment or confrontation due to their transgender identity.

The USTS included 27,715 respondents from all fifty states, the District of Columbia, several U.S. territories, and overseas military bases, making it the largest survey of transgender people ever. The USTS serves a follow up to the 2008-2009 National Transgender Discrimination Survey, which was conducted by the National Center for Transgender Equality and the National LGBTQ Task Force.

Nearly unchanged from the results of the previous survey was the 40 percent of respondents who stated that they had attempted suicide at some point in their lives, compared to 41 percent in the 2008-2009 study. The USTS did find that the rate of attempted suicide dropped dramatically - from 54 percent to 37 percent - depending whether the transgender person had family support. While still an alarmingly high figure, the drop demonstrates the significant impact that family support can have on the safety and well-being of transgender people. In fact, the report found significantly lower rates of across several negative outcomes for transgender individuals with supportive families, including lower rates of homelessness and serious psychological distress.

Today, HRC expressed deep concern after the Arkansas Supreme Court reversed a lower court’s decision directing the Arkansas Department of Health to list both same-sex parents on their child’s birth certificate, the same process that applies to different-sex couples. This major ruling tries to limit the scope of last year’s landmark marriage equality decision by the U.S. Supreme Court in Obergefell v. Hodges -- despite the fact that the high court specifically listed birth certificates as one of the governmental rights, benefits and responsibilities that marital status confers.

“It is clear that including both married spouses’ names -- regardless of whether they are same-sex or opposite sex -- on a child’s birth certificate is exactly the kind of benefit of marriage that the U.S. Supreme Court ruled should be extended to same-sex couples,” said Kate Oakley, senior legislative counsel for the Human Rights Campaign. “This disappointing ruling from the Arkansas Supreme Court is a clear violation of equal protection for married, same-sex couples, as affirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court in Obergefell, and it is a deliberate attempt to undermine the rights of couples who have been guaranteed equality under the law when it comes to marriage.”

The ruling could place burdens on same-sex couples that opposite-sex couples would not experience, including forcing same-sex couples to enter into legal proceedings to assert parental rights. Under Arkansas law, a different-sex couple married at the time of a child’s birth are presumed parents, and listed as such on the birth certificate -- even in cases where artificial insemination has been used and agreed to by both parents. Additionally, a different-sex couple married after the birth of their child can both be listed as legal parents on the birth certificate if the husband attests he is the parent.

Today’s ruling does not clarify whether a same-sex parent married to the biological mother at the time of the child’s birth has a right to be listed on the birth certificate. It would also require same-sex couples married after the birth of a child to seek a court order to have the non-biological parent’s rights recognized.

Following the marriage equality ruling, Arkansas, along with several other states, passed a so-called “Religious Freedom Restoration Act,” which aimed to undermine equality for LGBTQ people in the state. Today’s ruling from the Arkansas Supreme Court continues to take aim at rights guaranteed to married, same-sex couples under the law.

The attorney representing the same-sex couples in the case has not yet decided whether to appeal the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court, which would be the next step if she elects to challenge today’s decision.

In 2014, HRC launched Project One America, an initiative geared towards advancing social, institutional and legal equality in Arkansas, Alabama and Mississippi. HRC Arkansas continues to work to advance equality for LGBTQ Arkansans who have no state level protections in housing, workplace, or public accommodations. Through HRC Arkansas, we are working toward a future of fairness every day -- changing hearts, minds and laws toward achieving full equality.

Today, HRC Global released a Global Spotlight on Egypt highlighting the persecution and harassment of LGBTQ people in Egypt by both the state and society.

The overall situation facing LGBTQ Egyptians today is grim as social, cultural, political and religious attitudes towards them are uniformly hostile. Successive governments and the media have hounded LGBTQ people since the early 2000’s during the regime of longtime dictator Hosni Mubarak.

While there was a brief lull in persecution between 2011 and 2013 during the Arab Spring and its immediate aftermath, the persecution has resumed with renewed ferocity under Abdel Fattah el-Sisi who seized power in a July 2013 military coup. LGBTQ Egyptians have been hunted down by the regime as part of an ongoing wider crackdown by Egyptian authorities on civil society activists and organizations.

This report was released to mark the two-year anniversary of the infamous raid on a downtown Cairo hammam, or bathhouse, where television journalist Mona Iraqi photographed and filmed half naked men as police arrested them.

Iraqi posted an incendiary Facebook post shortly after the raid in which she labeled the bathhouse as the “biggest den for group perversion” and a “den for spreading AIDS in Egypt.” Twenty-six men were slapped with “debauchery” charges by the government before eventually being acquitted in January 2015. Iraqi faced sharp criticism from Egyptian activists and international observers for her involvement in the raid.

This Spotlight is the fourth in a series of articles that have drawn attention to a variety of issues affecting LGBTQ people around the world. The three previous Spotlights were on China, Uganda and Brazil. HRC is committed to supporting LGBTQ activists in Egypt and elsewhere. Read more about our work here.

In only a few short weeks, Donald Trump and Mike Pence will take office while an anti-equality Leadership is in power in both the House and Senate. HRC will be closely monitoring the actions of both Trump and Congress to ensure that progress we've made is not undone. Our pride means more now than ever before.

Since we moved to our current location in Washington, D.C. -- just blocks away from the White House in the nation's capital -- HRC has flown our flag proudly atop our national headquarters to serve as a beacon of hope for the LGBTQ community. Our logo brings visibility and awareness to the fight to secure our rights -- and continues to be one of the most recognizable symbols of the LGBTQ community.

Yesterday, Pope Francis signed off on the release of “The Gift of Priestly Vocation,” a document that reaffirms the Catholic Church’s 2005 ban on gay men entering the priesthood.

Written by the Vatican’s Congregation for Clergy, this document aims to offer guidelines for priests and seminarians across numerous aspects, including sexual orientation.

The document offers unfounded and hurtful concerns regarding the ordination of gay men, stating “such persons, in fact, find themselves in a situation that gravely hinders them from relating correctly to men and women.”

“If someone is willing to commit to the role and rules of Catholic priesthood, regardless of sexual orientation, they should be allowed to follow in the steps of Christ,” said Lisbeth Melendez Rivera, HRC Director of Latinx & Catholic Initiatives. “It is clearly contrary to the philosophy of the Church to say that sexual orientation is the only caveat by which someone is allowed to receive a calling to the priesthood.”

“We invite Pope Francis and the hierarchy of the Church to continue to enhance and to expand dialogue with LGBTQ Catholics around our active participation and support of our faith,” said Melendez Rivera.

The signing of this document is a stark contrast to Pope Francis’ now famous 2013 statement: “If someone is gay and he searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge?”

In response to the original 2005 ban, The Catholic Voice Oakland quoted Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the archbishop of New York, as saying that gay men “shouldn’t be discouraged” from entering the priesthood should they agree to abide by existing requirements for all Catholic priests, including celibacy,

In 2015, HRC released Coming Home: To Catholicism and to Self, the second guide in the Coming Home series “aimed at LGBTQ people of faith who hope to lead their faith communities toward a more welcoming stance, and those seeking a path back to beloved traditions.”

Today, HRC issued the following statement after the U.S House of Representatives and U.S. Senate passed the FY 2017 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The final version of the legislation did not include a House-passed provision that would have dramatically expanded religious discrimination with taxpayer funds and undermined President Obama’s executive order prohibiting LGBTQ discrimination in federal contracting. The provision -- proposed by Representative Steve Russell (R-OK) under the guise of so-called “religious liberty” -- had been previously included in the House version of the bill, but not in the Senate version. Conferees did not include it in the conference report.

“While we won this battle, the threat to fairness and equality remains. Now is the time for all of us to double-down on our work. Put your lawmaker’s number on speed-dial, thank them for rejecting the Russell Amendment, and make clear you won’t stand for any attempt to deny or rollback critical protections for LGBTQ people, women, people of color, or any other group of Americans,” said HRC Government Affairs Director David Stacy. “The next administration and members of Congress should look at the lesson learned in North Carolina, where anti-LGBTQ discrimination cost Governor McCrory his election. That sentiment is not unique to the Tar Heel State. Seven in 10 voters across the nation -- including 55 percent of those who voted for President-Elect Trump -- support the Equality Act’s non-discrimination protections for LGBTQ people. The federal government should never be in the business of creating taxpayer-funded discrimination against LGBTQ Americans.”

The Russell amendment could have allowed sweeping, taxpayer-funded discrimination in an attempt to promote anti-LGBTQ religious-based discrimination in all contracts and grants across the entire federal government. With far-reaching intended and unintended consequences, the vague amendment could have even undermined existing non-discrimination provisions that protect workers, and perhaps even beneficiaries, against discrimination on the basis of race, religion, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, and more.

Last week, JoDee Winterhof, HRC Senior Vice President Policy and Political Affairs, joined the White House for a discussion on “Advancing LGBT Progress in Rural America." The White House convening brought together leaders from across the country to discuss the problems that LGBTQ Americans are facing in rural America.

Winterhof sat down with StoryCorps founder Dave Isay to talk about how LGBTQ Americans have used storytelling to create change. When people know someone who is LGBTQ, they are far more likely to support equality under the law. Beyond that, our stories can be powerful to each other.

Other topics of conversation at the convening included media, arts and technological tools to advance progress, race and gender LGBTQ issues in rural America, economic barriers and opportunities and issues facing rural LGBTQ youth.

Tom Vilsack, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, gave the closing remarks.

This convening is just one of many actions President Obama has taken to help and advance LGBTQ rights.

HRC was honored to be a part of this event and thanks the Obama Administration for uniting LGBTQ Americans from different parts of the country to share their story.

HRC AND EQUALITY NC TOUR STATE TO HIGHLIGHT ROY COOPER’S VICTORY -- A WATERSHED MOMENT FOR LGBTQ COMMUNITY: Yesterday, HRC and Equality NC hosted press conferences in Raleigh and Charlotte to congratulate Governor-Elect Roy Cooper. “Together we sent a signal to anti-equality activists and politicians that it is now a political liability to be anti-equality,” said HRC President Chad Griffin. “When Pat McCrory jammed through and signed into law the discriminatory HB2 bill, he picked a fight. That fight with the pro-equality community cost McCrory the governor’s mansion. That the pro-equality forces and a pro-equality candidate won in North Carolina is a watershed moment for our movement.” Through HRC and Equality NC’s Equality Votes Project, more than 24 million impressions online and thousands of face-to-face contacts were made, helping to put Roy Cooper over the edge. The coalition built a program to identify and turn out more than 450,000 North Carolina pro-equality voters, including a large cohort of millennial voters. In a state with roughly 255,000 LGBTQ voters, Cooper’s margin of victory was just over 10,000. Results of major post-election polls found that the anti-LGBTQ HB2 was the critical issue leading to Governor Pat McCrory’s defeat. North Carolina voters opposed to HB2 62 to 30 percent, and cited the discriminatory law as leading reason to vote against McCrory. More from WNCN and The Charlotte Observer.

●“[T]his year North Carolinians proved that the days of attacking LGBTQ people for political gain are over. And lawmakers would be wise to learn from Pat McCrory’s mistakes,” writes HRC President Chad Griffin in an op-ed for The Advocate.

ANOTHER DAY, ANOTHER ANTI-LGBTQ CABINET PICK BY TRUMP: Yesterday, Donald Trump named Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, a vicious opponent of LGBTQ equality and climate change denier, as head of the Environmental Protection Agency. Earlier this year, the Tulsa World reported that Pruitt was the “head bully” for Oklahoma lawmakers opposed to President Obama’s guidance for school districts designed to ensure transgender students are treated with dignity in public and federally funded schools, including having equal access to sex-segregated facilities such as restrooms and locker rooms. Pruitt also joined 10 other states filing a lawsuit to block implementation of the president’s guidance. As attorney general, he fought marriage equality, arguing that Oklahoma could continue to define marriage as between a man and woman, and spoke at a conference featuring anti-LGBTQ activists who have asserted that the “homosexual agenda” is a bigger national threat than terrorism, and that employers should be able to fire employees simply for being LGBTQ. More from KRMG.

HRC LAUNCHES 2017 CORPORATE EQUALITY INDEX IN MEXICO CITY: To mark this week’s release of the 2017 Corporate Equality Index (CEI), HRC Foundation held its second-ever international launch of the CEI in Mexico City, recognizing the growing global impact of the nearly 900 companies officially scored by the premiere benchmarking tool for LGBT workplace equality. Last year, the CEI for the first time expanded its scoring criteria include global LGBT-inclusive workplace policies. The business community responded, and this year 98 percent of CEI-rated companies offer both sexual orientation and gender identity non-discrimination protections to workers domestically and internationally. The Mexico City launch featured representatives from HRC’s on-the ground program HRC Equidad MX: Global Workplace Equality Program, the U.S. Embassy in Mexico, The Dow Chemical Company, J.P. Morgan Chase, and the Mexican state-owned petroleum company, PEMEX. “Now more than ever, we need to find points of collaboration to protect our global community’s gains and continue to move forward,” said Mary Beth Maxwell, HRC’s Senior Vice President for Programs, Research and Training. “With strategic partnerships across the public sector, private businesses and civil society, we can drive real change in the lives of LGBTQ people and further our shared goals of full inclusion in workplaces around the world.” More from HRC.

●Businesses and corporations take pride in LGBTQ workplace inclusion: This year, a record-breaking 517 businesses earned the CEI’s top score of 100, a single-year increase of more than 25 percent. Check out how businesses and corporations are taking to Twitter to creatively celebrate their commitment to LGBTQ equality in the workplace at HRC.

Meanwhile, a new Teaching Tolerance report documents in stark detail how educators have seen school climates negatively affected by the results of the recent presidential campaign during which marginalized groups were targeted for derision and harassment. More at HRC.

And another report finds that many public schools are still hostile to LGBTQ students: Read more here about what Human Rights Watch found in its survey of five representative states.

NCTE RELEASES GROUNDBREAKING SURVEY ON TRANSGENDER PEOPLE: The National Center for Transgender Equality’s (NCTE) survey, released yesterday, provides the most comprehensive picture to date about the lives of transgender people in the United States. While revealing that transgender people overwhelmingly experience discrimination, violence, poverty and unemployment, the survey also pointed to some hopeful signs. Respondents reported growing acceptance among their family, friends, coworkers and others in their lives. Sixty percent of respondents who are out to their families reported that their family was supportive of them. View the survey at www.ustranssurvey.org and more from Reuters.

GO PACK GO: This Week, the Green Bay Packers announced that they will join the Wisconsin LGBT Chamber of Commerce as a Gold Founding Member. The Chamber is an organization of LGBTQ and allied businesses and professionals. More from The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. In October, Green Bay Packers safety and Orlando native Haha Clinton-Dix, right, wore a shirt honoring the victims of the Pulse nightclub shooting during a Sunday Night Football game against the New York Giants.

DAVID CICILLINE BECOMES FIRST OPENLY LGBTQ REPRESENTATIVE ELECTED TO A HOUSE LEADERSHIP POSITION: HRC congratulates Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI) on his election Monday as one of three co-chairs for the Democratic Policy and Communications Committee. Cicilline is the first openly LGBTQ representative to be elected to a House leadership position. More from HRC.

MALTA BECOMES FIRST EUROPEAN COUNTRY TO BAN SO-CALLED “CONVERSION THERAPY”: On Monday, Malta became the first European country to ban so-called “conversion therapy.” The progressive Catholic country was also listed by the WORLD Policy Analysis Center as one of only five countries that have granted full constitutional rights to their LGBTQ citizens. More from Slate.

On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Community Relations Service (CRS) released a video highlighting law enforcement training and the transgender community in Jackson, Mississippi.

“CRS worked with the Jackson Police Department and members of the Transgender community to deliver cultural competency training for law enforcement officers,” the DOJ explained on their website. “CRS Conciliation Specialists presented the training in an effort to increase understanding and improve relations for all involved.”

Members of the transgender community took part in the training, speaking directly to law enforcement officers. A transgender police officer, Tyler Gibbs, and the mother of transgender son, Maureen Whann, also spoke.

"Focusing on LGBTQ -- and especially transgender -- cultural competency moves the needle of equality and equal treatment in the right direction,” HRC Mississippi State Director Rob Hill said. “It's heartening to see that the U.S. Department of Justice takes cultural competency training so seriously, and we are glad they're focusing resources here in Jackson, Mississippi. All law enforcement officers should know how to serve and protect all members of their community, especially LGBTQ citizens, who can be targeted for who they are."

Tonight, the widely anticipated Hairspray Live! will air on NBC. The star-studded cast features LGBTQ and allied actors, including several longtime HRC supporters.

Hairspray is an American musical based on the 1988 film Hairspray. The film was written and directed by LGBTQ icon John Waters, who has appeared at several HRC events. The musical, as well as film, is a touching coming of age story that celebrates diversity, family, inclusion and acceptance.

Here’s a sneak peek at the cast:

Kristin Chenoweth as Velma Von Tussle:

Chenoweth is a longtime HRC supporter. The Emmy and Tony Award-winner joined HRC’s Americans for Marriage Equality campaign in 2014, stating, “The bottom line is that regardless of how you were made or who you love, you should be able to get married if you want to get married. I truly believe it’s that simple.” HRC also honored Chenoweth with an HRC Ally for Equality award.

Billy Eichner as Rob Barker:

Eichner is an openly gay actor and comedian He was nominated for an Emmy Award as host of Billy on the Street and has starred in several shows, including Parks and Recreation and Difficult People.

Harvey Fierstein as Edna Turnblad:

Fierstein will reprise his role as Edna Turnblad, which he won a Tony Award for in 2003. He wrote the book for the musical La Cage aux Folles, Newsies and Kinky Boots, which he co-created with longtime HRC supporter Cyndi Lauper. In addition to being an award winning actor and playwright, is a longtime advocate and leader in the LGBTQ community, on and off the stage. Fierstein, who is openly gay, most recently wrote an op-ed in the New York Times detailing the incarceration of the transgender minor in an adult prison, urging stronger laws to protect LGBTQ youth in foster care and more training for child welfare professionals. He also spoke out against Russia’s dangerous anti-LGBTQ laws and Indiana’s so-called “license to discriminate” bill that could have allowed businesses to deny service to LGBTQ people.

Sean Hayes as Mr. Pinky:

Hayes, who is openly gay, is best known for his Emmy Award-winning role as Jack in the beloved series Will & Grace. HRC honored Hayes with the HRC Visibility Award in 2012.

Jennifer Hudson as Motormouth Maybelle

Hudson is a Grammy Award-winning recording artist, Academy Award-winning actress and longtime HRC supporter. She released an LGBTQ anthem in 2015 (I Still Love You), appeared at HRC’s National Dinner in 2014 and appeared on the cover of HRC’s Equality Magazinein 2014. She was also a part of Turn It Up for Change, the W Hotel’s campaign to support HRC’s work. "This is America ... No one should be discriminated against simply because of who they are or who they love,” Hudson said.

Rosie O’Donnell as Health Ed Teacher:

The award winning actor, comedian, producer and author has been a longtime advocate for LGBTQ equality. O’Donnell, who is openly gay, is a longtime HRC supporter, appearing in the True Colors Tour in support of HRC in 2007 and 2008. HRC also honored O’Donnell with the HRC Visibility Award.

Author: Hayley Miller

Posted: December 7, 2016, 10:23 pm

Posts – LDS Family Fellowship

Fighting The LGBT Community’s Invisibility | In many ways, the history of the LGBT community is a history of battling invisibility. Since the dawn of time, society has tried to make us invisible. We gained strength as a community only by shedding that invisibility, coming out, and proudly saying who we are. Source: Fighting The […]

Diversity: Pride in science The sciences can be a sanctuary for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender individuals, but biases may still discourage many from coming out. Source: Diversity: Pride in science : Nature News & Comment

Silence Is Killing Your LGBT Relatives 06/21/2016 06:32 pm ET | Updated 4 hours ago Mark O’Connell, L.C.S.W. Psychotherapist in private practice, author of Modern Brides & Modern Grooms LGBT Pride Month 2016 will always be remembered for the worst mass shooting in American history to date, one which took 49 lives at an Orlando, […]

The Orlando Massacre: A Reminder of the Dangers LGBT People Live With Every Day There have been scores of attacks on LGBT spaces, some of which received more attention than others. 06/12/2016 10:46 am ET | Updated 5 minutes ago Michelangelo Signorile, Editor-at-Large, HuffPost Queer Voices Queer Voices Editor-at-Large, The Huffington Post STEVE NESIUS / […]

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Diversity creates community—it begins with us! View Upcoming Events Get InvolvedProvo Pride is a small non-profit group of people who love the LGBTQ+ community and hope to make Utah County a better place. And try[...]

Diversity creates community—it begins with us! View Upcoming Events Get InvolvedProvo Pride is a small non-profit group of people who love the LGBTQ+ community and hope to make Utah County a better place. And try[...]

Diversity creates community—it begins with us! View Upcoming Events Get InvolvedProvo Pride is a small non-profit group of people who love the LGBTQ+ community and hope to make Utah County a better place. And try[...]

Diversity creates community—it begins with us! View Upcoming Events Get InvolvedProvo Pride is a small non-profit group of people who love the LGBTQ+ community and hope to make Utah County a better place. And try[...]

Diversity creates community—it begins with us! View Upcoming Events Get InvolvedProvo Pride is a small non-profit group of people who love the LGBTQ+ community and hope to make Utah County a better place. And try[...]